Note 61 — LORD BEACONSFIELD. ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY; DELIVERED AT MANCHESTER, APRIL 3, 1872.

Note 61, p. 268.—This statement is not quite justified by the facts. At the conclusion of the Civil War, intense feeling of indignation pervaded the United States against Great Britain, for three reasons: first, for a premature recognition of the belligerency of the Southern States; secondly, for the direct aid and supplies furnished the Southern States in British ports; and thirdly, for allowing the fitting out of cruisers in British ports to prey upon Northern commerce. The people of the United States held that Great Britain through her government had disregarded the obligations of neutrality imposed upon her by the law of nations. The United States Government remonstrated with the British Government, demanding reparation for past wrong, and cessation from a continuance of the wrong. But so long as Lord John Russell was in power (through whose negligence or misjudgment the wrong had been done) no progress was made toward a settlement. The Derby-Disraeli government succeeded that of Russell in 1866, with Lord Stanley as Minister of Foreign Affairs. About the end of 1866 Lord Stanley, through Sir Frederick Bruce, offered to submit the Alabama Claims to arbitration. To this Mr. Seward assented “on condition that the whole controversy between the two governments should be deferred.” Lord Stanley asked for information as to what was meant by the expression “the whole controversy,” but the answer was not free from ambiguity, and was supposed to refer to damages for “premature recognition of the Confederacy.” As Lord Stanley had refused to submit this subject to arbitration, negotiations were broken off. The matter rested till March 6, 1868, when it was brought up in the House of Commons, and was fully debated. This was followed by a debate March 20th in the House of Lords, both in excellent spirit. It was in the following November that negotiations were again opened with a view to submitting the differences to arbitration. A preliminary agreement was reached and signed November 10th, by Lord Stanley and Mr. Johnson, the American minister. It was not, however, acceptable to Mr. Seward, who telegraphed November 26th: “Claims Convention unless amended is useless.” In a long despatch of the same date sent by mail the objections were duly pointed out, the most important of which were in regard to Article IV. of the Protocol, and were stated in these words: “While the Convention provides that the United States claims and the British claims shall be settled and determined by a majority of the Commissioners, this Article IV. requires entire unanimity of the Commissioners for a derision upon any of the Alabama Claims.” Other objections were given, but this was the most important one why, as Mr. Seward said, “the United States are obliged to disallow this Article IV.” On November 28th Mr. Johnson had an interview with Lord Stanley, when the latter said he had received a despatch from the British minister at Washington, which stated “that it was understood that all the cabinet disapprove of it.” On the 5th of December Mr. Johnson wrote to Mr. Seward that he just had an interview with Lord Stanley, who “expressed no willingness to change the mode of appointing the arbitrator who is to decide the question of the liability of this government for the Alabama Claims.” In the same letter Mr. Johnson announced the resignation of the Disraeli government, and the necessity of postponing all further negotiations. On the whole subject see “Diplomatic Correspondence,” 3d Sess., 40th Cong., vol. i., pp. 361–391. Soon after the Gladstone-Clarendon government came into power the subject was again taken up, and a Protocol was agreed upon between Mr. Johnson and Lord Clarendon, providing that “all claims should be submitted to arbitration.” This treaty was submitted to the Senate of the United States, and April 19, 1869, was rejected with but one dissenting voice. The grounds of objection were that the Alabama Claims were so obscured by minor matters that they would not receive due attention. The Johnson-Clarendon treaty is given in the “Diplomatic Correspondence” and in “Ann. Reg. for 1869,” p. 282. The subject was not again renewed till the outbreak of the Franco-German War, in regard to which see note 63.